Meandering Through Thoughts of a New Garden

Growing up in an apartment in Yonkers, NY, I never had a back yard. My back yard was the parking lot behind the building, but scattered all around in between streets, apartments, and houses, were little strips of green "wildness." I can remember playing with friends in the short-cut next to the apartment. We would chase each other and run through the "tall flowers," which I now know were weeds! There was time spent at the local "duck pond" or over friends' houses. Even though I grew up in a suburban area, nature was all around, and as a kid I loved it! 

My first adventure with gardening was on an apartment terrace my husband and I had when we were first married. The yield we would get from the window boxes was something to behold! Years later we bought a house and now I have a more traditional garden. This year we set out to expand our garden to include not only vegetables, but a plot of pollinator flowers in a meadow style. We figured we'd help our vegetable garden by planting flowers that attract bees and other pollinators. I believe it is so important that we try to get back to growing our own food and growing it naturally. I am so excited to see how it all works out! Stay tuned for pictures!

As I mentioned before, flowers and their beautiful fragrances are a big inspiration for creating my soaps. This spring I will be growing some verbena and lemon bee balm in my garden. I love the clean, crisp smell of lemon, which is one reason I love to use lemon fragrance in my soaps! All my soaps have a vegetable base or a honey base. I purchase my soap bases from SFIC. Read more about how SFIC got started back in the 1960's. SFIC Soap History

I encourage everyone to think outside of the box, be creative in making your own garden. You don't need a house or a big area to plant things you and your family love to eat. When you make your own garden YOU  have control of the soil, how you grow your plants--hopefully with no pesticides--and what you grow. Growing your own can be a very rewarding experience for everyone; maybe you can even share some of your bounty with friends and family! Gardening, as with making handmade soap, is all about putting things that are natural and healthier for you on and into your body. So go out there and get your hands dirty!

For further inspiration here is one of my favorite podcasts! A Way to Garden with Margaret Roach

Gina💗

 

                                     Beginning spring garden, some oregano and radishes
                                                                    

Echinacea started from seed indoors and transplanted to the garden.

 

Wild flowers growing in my front yard!

 

Paris Coral Bells that came with us from my terrace when we moved to the house!